“Bribery Menu” Shines A Light On Entrenched Corruption In Venezuela’s ‘Socialist Paradise’

Some of the going rates for the list above include: $4,500 for a passport, $400 for a Chilean visa, $7,000 to erase a criminal record. Typically, bribes are paid through an intermediary known as a “gestor” – a ‘fixer’-type character.

Corruption was endemic in Venezuela even before the economic collapse began in 2013. But that the list above even exists shows just how absurdly common bribery has become. Venezuelan police even have their own code for soliciting bribes: “algo pa’l fresco?” – ‘spare something for a soda?’

Cops at checkpoints still ask for “algo pa’l fresco” (that you spare something for a soda) to pass through without hassle, but many are no longer interested in measly bolivars; they demand U.S. dollars. Increasingly, bribing is a dollars-only business. Those civil servants were plunged into poverty by the economic collapse and have little interest in a local currency that has been destroyed by hyperinflation. And Venezuelans, especially those desperate to get their papers in order and flee the country, oblige.

Still, most Venezuelans can’t afford to pay bribes in dollars, particularly when the minimum wage in Venezuela amounts to a few dollars a month. And even foreigners aren’t impervious: After one Bloomberg reporter lost their state ID, they soon discovered that every state office they visited was suffering from an array of tech difficulties. Either they were out of materials, the computer was broken, or the office was mobbed by a ridiculously lengthy line.

Frustrated by the endless stream of excuses, the reporter eventually gave $150 to a fixer, who promptly took care of problem.